Petitioning the Lord Through the Lord’s Prayer
Note: The following is an excerpt from my book On the Same Page with God: Embracing the Power of Praying Scripture.
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The Lord’s Prayer is an incredible model of petitionary prayer. When one of Jesus’ disciples eagerly asked Him to teach them to pray, Jesus taught them the words to what we call the Lord’s Prayer, found in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:1-4.
I grew up in a denomination where we would pray the Lord’s Prayer every Sunday. We would all reach along the wooden pews and across the aisles, clasping hands with family members and fellow church members, until we were all connected in one united body. Then, we would all recite the familiar words. In fact, the words were so familiar that I’ll admit, they often lost their meaning, or maybe as a child I never understood what they meant to begin with.
Even though I may not have understood what all the words of this all-too-familiar prayer meant, the act of the entire church holding hands and praying this prayer together made it clear this was a prayer intended for us to pray as a collective unit. The plural pronoun words ‘our’ and ‘us’ are further confirmation this is a prayer for the body of Christ to pray together. This doesn’t mean we can’t pray the Lord’s Prayer by ourselves. The Lord’s Prayer is full of petitions that show us what was on Jesus’ heart when He prayed, things that we can join Him in praying for, too.
The first three lines of this prayer have to do with God’s glory, His kingdom, and His will. Kelly Minter explains, “Each of these petitions is a slight variation of the same request. Like three tributaries running into the same river, our desire for God’s renown, reign, and rule all flow toward His throne.” It seems obvious that we should focus on God’s character and will first, but how often our hearts are inclined to jump right into our requests for ourselves and the people we care about and the things we want to see happen. Once we’ve given God His proper place, then all other things will fall into their proper places. Once we’ve focused on the Person, then we can focus on our petitions.
While reading a chapter in Prayer by Timothy Keller recently, I uncovered many gems about what the Lord’s Prayer is about. Keller has done a lot of research and gleaned incredible insight from some of the spiritual greats (namely, Martin Luther, Augustine, and John Calvin) regarding the Lord’s Prayer. I’d like to share some of those nuggets with you, as well as a few more modern Bible study teachers’ insights into the Lord’s Prayer. Understanding what each of these familiar phrases and petitions truly means will provide you with a plethora of prayers, using God’s Word and Jesus’ Prayer as our foundation and guide.
Our Father.
Jews typically addressed God as Almighty God or Yahweh, or viewed Him as too holy to even say His name, so referring to God as ‘our Father’ would have been revolutionary, ushering in a whole new relationship paradigm.
Just as many prayer patterns begin with praise or adoration, so too does The Lord’s Prayer. By remembering that He is our loving Father, and addressing Him as such, we remind ourselves that He is trustworthy and He will provide us with what we need. He may not always give us the things we want, but He will care for us and provide us with what is for our good and His glory. As Martin Luther said, this prayer opening “is a call to not plunge right into talking to God but to first recollect our situation and realize our standing in Christ before we proceed in prayer.”
Who Art in Heaven.
We continue the prayer addressing where God both resides and reigns. Remembering that He is an Almighty God who reigns in heaven encourages both praise and humility. It reminds us that He is in control and we are not. It reminds us to approach Him with not only the intimacy of our Father, but with awe-struck wonder.
The combination of these first six words remind us that He is both our loving Father and Almighty God. Honoring both aspects of God’s character and His care for us are important.
Hallowed Be Thy Name.
In this part of the prayer we recognize that God and His name are holy (hallowed), which means to be set apart, or sacred. A.W. Tozer reminds us that “holy is the way of God. To be holy, He does not conform to a standard. He is that standard. He is holy with an infinite, incomprehensible fullness of purity that is incapable of being other than it is. Because He is holy, all His attributes are; that is, whatever we think of as belonging to God must be thought of as holy.”
Luther, Calvin, and Augustine agree that not only is this part of the prayer about praising and declaring that God and His name are holy, but is also meant to be a petition that God’s name would be holy and glorified to all others as well in all nations.
Thy Kingdom Come.
Jesus spoke often of His Father’s kingdom. He lived out what he said in Matthew 6:33 ESV: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” Since God is everywhere and is in control of everything, that means His kingdom is wherever God reigns. God’s kingdom is in heaven and on earth and in you and me, if we’ve invited Him to rule there. To pray “thy kingdom come” means to invite His rule and Lordship into your life and into the whole world.
The kingdom of God is so complex and so important that Jesus used numerous parables to explain it to His various audiences, describing it as a mustard seed, a hidden treasure, a priceless pearl, a vineyard, a wedding feast, a fisherman’s net, and more. What we get from all these illustrations is that God’s kingdom is good and we should eagerly desire to be a part of it.
According to Revelation 19:16, Jesus will return as King of kings and Lord of lords, establishing a new kingdom and rule forever. Luther believed “the reign of God is only partial now, but the fullness of the future kingdom is unimaginable. All suffering, injustice, poverty and death will be ended. To pray thy kingdom come is to yearn for the future eternal kingdom of God.” We can often get distracted by the things we want to see happen on earth, building our own mini-kingdoms. This part of the prayer reminds us that it is all temporary, and we must be focused on God’s kingdom, as Jesus did.
Thy Will Be Done.
This is a prayer that Jesus Himself would pray in the Garden of Gethsemane hours before His excruciating death. Jesus taught it, prayed it, and lived it, and it was for our benefit—our salvation.
It is an acknowledgement that God knows best. We have a limited vantage point, but God sees the whole picture and how it fits in with His kingdom. Our flesh may want circumstances to turn out differently, but this prayer acknowledges that God knows best. It allows you to surrender your own desires and will to embrace that of God’s for your life. Calvin said, “Praying ‘thy will be done’ is to submit not only our wills to God, but even our feelings, so that we do not become despondent, bitter, and hardened by the things that befall us.” God’s goal is always for us to be sanctified and shaped more into the likeness of Christ.
On Earth as it is in Heaven.
This phrase combines both the Kingdom of God and the will of God, making it relevant to our role in it. How wonderful would it be if things happened here on earth in the same way they do in heaven. We are told in Revelation 21:4 that there is no death, struggle, pain, or tears in heaven. God’s dwelling place is more amazing than we can ever try to grasp or imagine with our limited minds. That is, until we one day are called home to live with Him forever.
Heaven is a perfect place, the ultimate reward and destination for each Christian. Knowing that God’s will is perfect and complete in heaven offers us hope, comfort, and confidence in His will for us here on earth. Kelly Minter writes, “As God’s perfect will is being worked in heaven, we are to pray for its inbreaking right here in our everyday lives. Because the kingdom of heaven is at hand or has come near through Christ, we have access to pray that all that is true in heaven will be made so on earth.”
Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread.
The pronouns shift from addressing God to now addressing our own needs. Jesus pivots from focusing on God’s greatness to our weakness, but in this line He teaches us how important our physical needs are to our heavenly Father. He reinforces this idea in the Sermon on the Mount (shortly after teaching them the Lord’s Prayer), telling the listeners not to worry about what they will eat or drink or wear, for their Heavenly Father will take care of them (Matthew 6:25-34).
This line would have reminded His audience of when God told the hungry, grumbling Israelites, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you” (Exodus 16:4a). Every morning, the daily provision would rain from heaven—precisely enough bread to satisfy their family’s needs, with a double portion on the sixth day so they could rest on the Sabbath. In fact, God met all the Israelites’ greatest needs, providing guidance, healing, bread, meat, and even sandals that never wore out.
In this line of the prayer, we acknowledge we are utterly dependent on God for life, sustenance, provision, and protection. God faithfully provides for us the physical and spiritual nourishment we need.
Luther adds that there’s a social component to this prayer as well. We are praying not only for our own needs or that of our family but for the needs of all people. “To pray ‘give us our daily bread’ is to pray for the needs of all the people of the world … it is to pray for a prosperous and just social order.”
Forgive Us Our Sins as We Forgive Those Who Sin Against Us.
Right after Jesus reminds us of the physical needs that God can meet, He reminds us to focus on our spiritual and relational needs as well. As John Stott says, “Forgiveness is as indispensable to the life and health of the soul as food is for the body.”
This line of the prayer reminds us of the gospel foundation of forgiveness and grace. God is faithful to forgive us when we sin. And we are called to forgive others when they sin against us. It’s hard to do. We want to hold onto the anger and bitterness or forget it ever happened. It often requires prayer to be able to let go of any unforgiveness we are carrying in our hearts. Forgiveness is possible for us because we know we have received it when we didn’t deserve it.
Jesus saved us from our sin so we could be reconciled to Him and to one another. It may be a struggle in our flesh sometimes, but pursuing reconciliation, love, and forgiving others comes through prayer and a grateful heart that we ourselves have been forgiven. Kelly Minter writes: “The body of Christ can’t exist without forgiveness flowing in and out of us. Without seeking regular forgiveness from God, our relationship with Him is hindered. And without giving it and receiving it amongst ourselves, we can lose our most precious gift—each other …
“Whenever it’s possible, we want to be people who seek reconciliation and healing in our relationships (2 Corinthians 2:5-11). God’s forgiveness for His people and our forgiveness toward one another are what hold our relationships together.”
Lead Us Not into Temptation.
Jesus then teaches us that we should pray for protection and provision in the fight against our temptations. Temptation is relentless. Even Jesus experienced it. These temptations come from the schemes of Satan and from circumstances in our lives, neither of which we have the strength to resist on our own, as Jesus did. Our flesh is strong, and we need God’s strength to resist the temptations that will lead us into sin.
Jesus used the Word of God to fight against temptations and Satan’s lies (see Matthew 4:1-11). He also demonstrated through His words and actions how to live out this line of the prayer. We must pray against temptation and fight it using the Word of God, which reminds us of God’s best for us.
Deliver Us from Evil.
Augustine indicates that “while praying to ‘lead us not into temptation’ helps protect us from the evil in us, this petition asks for protection from evil outside of us, such as spiritual warfare, enemies who wish us harm, poverty, dishonor, and death.”
We may not want to think about it, or maybe we think too much about it, but Satan and sin and evil are all around us. Thankfully, when Jesus died on the cross and rose again, He defeated sin and Satan and evil. We have access to that same victory power because we are covered by the blood of Jesus. We aren’t merely victims of Satan’s schemes, but rather we can stand victorious in Christ, fully equipped with the armor of God. You’ll read more about the armor of God and spiritual protection in the next chapter.
The Lord’s Prayer is only sixty-six words, and yet each phrase of the Lord’s Prayer offers a plethora of prayer possibilities.
John Calvin made it a practice to pray the Lord’s Prayer daily, while Luther preferred to go line by line, paraphrasing and personalizing as he prayed. Calvin says that “the Lord’s Prayer must stamp itself on our prayers, shaping them all the way down.” Whether you pray the Lord’s prayer word for word or you personalize the Lord’s prayer, may Christ’s prayer become your own, leading you to praise and petition God more like Christ.